The collection of 501 prints by 33 artists was formed in the 1950s and 60s, by the Melbourne artist Harry Rosengrave. Many of the prints were gifted or exchanged with his contemporaries who used the facilities of the print room of RMIT, Melbourne. The collection was well known among artists and the public had the opportunity to view many of the prints when they were exhibited at Hawthorn City Art Gallery, 10-25 May June 1979. Some of the prints in the collection suffered from smoke and water damage when the shed in which they were stored was set on fire. Rosengrave subsequently trimmed some sheets. The Australian National Gallery began negotiations with Rosengrave in 1973. These negotiations were resumed in 1985, the year before the artist’s death. Negotiations then continued with the family, facilitated by Niagara Lane Gallery, who had presented a retrospective of the artist’s prints in 1980.

Purchased by the Australian National Gallery, from the Rosengrave family, Melbourne, February 1986.